Crash on Mary Patton Highway results in fatality

Published 6:04 pm Wednesday, September 14, 2022

On September 14, 2022, at approximately 12:30 pm, officers of the Elizabethton Police Department, Elizabethton Fire Department, and Carter County EMS were dispatched to Mary Patton Highway at the intersection of Gap Creek Road in reference to a motor vehicle collision involving injuries. According to a release from the Elizabethton Police Department, Carter County 911 advised responders that a motor vehicle had collided with a motorcycle in the intersection and CPR was being conducted on the operator of the motorcycle.  CCEMS transported the injured motorcyclist to Sycamore Shoals hospital where he was pronounced dead from the injuries sustained in the crash.  Due to the seriousness of the crash, the department’s Specialized Accident Reconstruction Team was contacted to assist on-duty officers.  The initial investigation by officers discovered that a gray 2016 Chevrolet Suburban, driven by Margaret Baker age 39 of Elizabethton, had attempted to turn left from the Southbound Lane of Mary Patton Highway onto Gap Creek Road. The Suburban traveled into the path of a black 2003 Harley Davidson Ultra Classic, ridden by Jason Veitch, age 40 also of Elizabethton, which was traveling Northbound on Mary Patton Highway.  After impact, the motorcycle and operator departed from the initial area of impact and collided with a guardrail.  Debris from the initial collision struck a 2013 Toyota Tacoma, which was stopped for the stop sign on Gap Creek Road.  The investigation into the crash is ongoing.